The Exception Proves the Rule
by Akanokumo
Summary: Ray is just your average teenage boy. Well, that's what he thought... But either way, Ray lives his life unaware of the worlds that live alongside his own world, and the gods that rule over the worlds: Gods of Death, also known as Shinigami. That is, until one day when he meets Tuig, a Shinigami, who takes him to another of these worlds...
1. Boy

**This is my first fanfic so any tips and things would be really appreciated :)**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Death Note... :(**

**Annnyyyway here goes :**

* * *

_~Updated 23/2/12~_

Patter. Patter.

Fingertips of rain played along the roof top as the warm sun gradually merged with the fading light of dusk, the day drawing to an end.

Patter. Patter.

Inside the house, a boy sat, head on desk, eyes shut, listening to the sound of the rain. It was only a light drizzle that couldn't even be called a shower, but the sound was amplified by the hollow room, making it seem as if there were a storm raging outside. The boy's fingers drummed out a rhythm on his desk, beating in time to the steady fall of the water. The droning of the teacher had been filtered out alongside the murmur of the class, so the rain was all the boy could hear.

How he wanted to be running in the rain, looking at the sunset, hand in hand with his parents, like he had when he was younger. They would swing him back and forth between them, and he would laugh and they would smile at their happy little boy. And that's what they would be. Happy.

Not that that could happen anymore.

Instead, he was sitting in this useless lesson, learning useless things. He sighed. It all seemed like meaningless boredom. When would he need to use sequences in life? He understood them, but didn't see their use. Much like all the other subjects he was forced to take - he could do them, but never used them outside of lessons. And there was everyone else working their hardest in every way, while he slouched around school, completely unconcerned with education he was supposed to be grateful for.

Although he didn't particularly mean to slouch, it just seemed that his shoulders naturally curled over, his back bent, and his hand sat in his pockets, keeping warm. Scraggy black hair fell down over his eyes, hiding his face from the world. His hair was another bizarre point. However short he cut it, however frequently, it would grow back almost instantly. Yet after growing like the wind, it always stopped growing as soon as it reached an invisible line just above his shoulders. After a childhood of constant visits to the hairdressers, he, along with his parents, had given up and just allowed nature to take its course. Now, at sixteen years old, his hair had become part of his personality, part of the mask he had made to keep the world out. He was proud of his mask. So far, the world had not got inside.

Of course, there had been counsellors. Psychiatrists. Groups mentoring sessions. You name it, he had had it. Not that it made much difference – he had learnt to put his mask on and answer the questions to make them go away. After time, he had ended up here. He wasn't complaining – compared to some of the places he had been, this was by far the best. It was just his general dislike of schools. Of education. Of _learning_.

The only subject that really took his interest was sport – running, swimming, cycling. Being in tune with the outdoors - feeling the wind whistle past his ears; rain softly trickle down strands of hair; the earth compress under his bare feet – that was what he enjoyed. The freedom of it was exhilarating – he felt as if he could run away from everything and anything.

If it came to it, he didn't need to run away - when he was six, his parents had insisted that he join a karate class, and now, ten years later, he wore his black belt with pride. As part of the sport, he had to be disciplined, not that any of his teachers would ever imagine it. Due to his lazy appearance, he was immediately classified as a delinquent in every school he visited, and so was promptly blamed whenever anything bad happened. He imagined that was why, when the bell rung for the end of the day, he was kept behind by his teacher.

"Miss?" he pleaded, "Why d'ya have to keep me behind? I have stuff to do, you know…"

His teacher turned, and gave him a disapproving look. "Like vandalize the house again? You may find lessons boring, but this is no way to express your boredom."

"I didn't do that! We all know it was the guy who sits in front of me – you know, with the blond hair."

The teacher raised her eye brows "If you're going to blame your misdoings on your classmates, at least learn their names first."

"Oh, for-" the boy stopped himself, but too late.

"I will not have that kind of language in my class room. I think… yes. I will have you stay here for the next hour, so that you can think about what you've done, and when I return at…" she glanced at her wrist where an expensive watch told her the time "… four o'clock, when I expect you to tell me how you are going to make up for your actions."

With that, she left the room, not even seeming to notice the boy's protests.

"I wasn't even going to swear_._"He grumbled, after she had left the room.

The boy, upon finding the door locked, slumped back down into his chair. _Maybe this place isn't so great after all._ _I mean, they keep us locked up like prisoners. _Deciding he didn't have anything else to do for the next hour, he dropped his head down onto the desk, and dozed off to sleep.

* * *

Slowly, he opened his eyes. The room was getting dark. He squinted up at the clock mounted above the teacher's desk.

_5:27_. _Damn. I've overslept._

The boy quickly got up from his desk, stretching his arms out, getting rid of the last of his tiredness. A quick glance around the room showed the teacher had not returned – the door was closed, and her bags were still by the desk.

His phone showed no sign of any signal and he could find no other way out of the room, so he walked over to the door, in the hope that he could get it open.

After having to resort to an explosive front kick, the door swung straight open, revealing the corridor, unlit, on the other side. The boy peered round the corner. No-one was anywhere to be seen. He turned around, meaning to get his bags to leave, when he abruptly stopped.

Before him was a twisted monster – its eyes peeled back, goring into the boy's own eyes. Its jaggared spine pierced holes through its curled back and two taloned wings curled over the beast's dismal brown frame. Two large claws forced their way from its feet, stabbing into the floor.

The boy, although surprised, wasn't scared. He had seen many unusual things so far in his life, and a monster wasn't the worst he had seen.

After a weighted silence, the boy decided to speak.

"Hey, um, can I ask what you are?"

After another long pause, the creature hadn't replied, so the boy tried again. "Hello? Er, can I get you anything…? I dunno, you want me to take you to our leader or something?"

The monster simply plucked a maggot out of its ear and chewed it in its mouth.

"Fine - don't reply then! You could've at least told me your name..."

The boy was surprised for a second time that day when the monster finally spoke. "Tuig."

"What?"

"You asked for my name. It's Tuig."

The boy tipped an imaginary hat. "Howdy, Tuig. My name's Ray. Mind if I ask what you are?"

Tuig seemed to be opening up, because his next answer was faster than the others.

"Haha… Can't you tell? I'm a Shinigami – a God of Death."

* * *

**Soo... What do you think? Please review! I'd really appreciate any ideas and stuff you do and don't like (no flames please!)...**

**Thanks! :)**


	2. New World

**Phew! A longer one this time. I've got the next few planned out too, so they should be better than the last one :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Yup. I don't own Death Note.**

* * *

"A god of death? Really? So you've come to kill me? Could-"

A threatening look from the god of death put an end to Ray's questions.

"I never thought humans were this stupid. Of course I'm a god of death – what do I look like? A fairy?" Tuig smirked. "And if I wanted you dead, you already would be, Ray" The Shinigami grinned like a Cheshire cat as Ray look in trepidation at the figure before him.

"What the heck do you mean?"

"Heh. You really don't know who I am, do you? Well I'll tell you this: I'm from a different world - the realm of Shinigamis. It's where Shinigami like me live and it's connected to many different parallel worlds. We look over them all." Tuig took a slight pause, shifted his claws, and continued "In truth, although these worlds are completely separate, they all leave small traces in other worlds, in songs book and things like that. I've come to take you to one of those worlds."

"What? Why?"

"Why? I thought it might be fun"

Ray regarded the Shinigami sceptically. If anyone other than a flying demon had told him that they were going to take him to a different world because they thought it would be fun, he would've dismissed them immediately. But the Shinigami wasn't anyone else, and the way he talked didn't make him seem like a liar, so Ray decided to go along with it.

"So how do I get to this other world thing?"

"I take you through a portal." As he spoke, Tuig touched the air, pulling it downwards. Ray noticed that the air seemed to be rippling under the point of his finger, and that an orange haze was being emitted from where his finger had drawn. Ray followed the trail round as Tuig drew a large oval in the air. Tuig's finger reached the top, and the amber outline burned brighter, the edges drew inwards. The oval grew brighter, until the sides met in the middle and the portal was a complete loop of orange flames, standing alone in mid-air. His face illuminated by the flames, Ray looked to the Shinigami, who returned the look which a raised eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"I get to another world through this thing? It's-"

"Orange?"

"Not quite what I was gonna say, but yeah. Orange. Very orange."

Ray looked at it from side to side. It was quite literally floating in the air. There was nothing below it keeping it up and it was thinner than a hair.

"What's this other world like then? Are there aliens taking over the world? Do you need me to stop 'em?"

The Shinigami snorted. "Nothing like that. Well, there is a person who could be called a monster taking over the world, but that's a different matter. By what you're thinking about, the world is just like yours, only there're a few tweaks. The problem is that another Shinigami gave his death note to a human. Pretty stupid if you ask me." Tuig sighed, shrugging what could be his shoulders.

"A Death Note? Is that like some kinda sticky note that death gods use?"

A smile etched across the Shinigami's face "No, not like that. It's a note book that kills people. You write down – Actually, I think I'll leave it to you to find out how it works." With that, breathed on the portal, causing it to ripple and turn into a view of the Tokyo skyline. "This is where you're going."

Ray looked closer into the picture and noticed the language spotted on the billboards across the city.

"Is that Japanese? I don't speak Japanese!"

Tuig took out an object from his pocket and held it out to Ray. Scooping it up with his hand, Ray found it was a dark red ring with a skull on it.

"What's this?"

"It works as a translator, among other things. It will also help you to see other gods like me."

Ray slid the ring down his finger. It fit perfectly. "What now?"

"Well, I guess all that is left to say is have a nice trip" Tuig turned to face Ray, swooping his wings round and pushing Ray forward.

"I have to go now? In my school stuff?"

All he saw in answer was a half-smile before he was pushed into the portal.

* * *

Pain. Screaming in the depths of the darkness was a crushing force like he had never felt before. The throb radiated from his head for what seemed like hours before gradually it subsided. At that point his other senses came back to him. He twitched his toes, flexed his hands and breathed a breath of air from the new world. _Strange _he thought _it doesn't seem any different to home_. He focused on his ears, and heard a car beeping in the distance, as well as the quite murmur of people simmering in and out. Then a voice –

"Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Realising the person meant no harm, Ray open his eyes to see a young Japanese woman peering over at him.

"Thank the heavens you're okay. I thought Kira had got you for a moment."

Puzzled, Ray sat up and looked at the lady before him. She had short black hair, wide maroon eyes and a button nose – she reminded Ray of a shy mouse.

Ray got the most straight forward questions out of the way to begin with. "Who are you? And who's Kira?"

"Who am I? My names Imai Masumi but you can just call me Masumi. And as for Kira, he's… Come on, you must know who he is?"

Ray dismissed all notions of Masumi being shy.

"Nope"

"You must have been living under a rock for the last four months then. Kira? He's the so-called god who's killing criminals – you know, where they all die of mysterious heart attacks?"

Starting to understand who Kira was, Ray went along with what Masumi was saying.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm a bit forgetful… Anyway… Where am I?"

The look Masumi gave him told Ray he'd asked the wrong question.

"Where are you? What, did you fall out of the sky or something? Not that it wouldn't fit – I mean, what's with you lying down in an alleyway looking dead?" Before Masumi saying this, Ray hadn't taken in his surroundings. Looking around him now, he found himself down a bright alleyway, sitting between an old crisp packet and the remains of a hamburger.

"Um... Well I don't really know. Ach. This is embarrassing, but you wouldn't happen to be able to help me? You see I don't have any where to stay and I don't know my way around too well." Ray put on his most pleading face.

Masumi looked pensive. "Weellll… I suppose I have room in my flat, so just for a while okay?"

Ray let out a deep break.

"Thanks, you're a life saver"

A smile flickered across Masumi's face. "We'd best get going then, Mr Embarassed." She raised an eyebrow.

"It's Ray. My name's Ray"

* * *

**Weelll, there we are! As before, please review! It's really helpful so please just give me an idea of what you think!**


	3. Red

**Sorry about the massive gap between this chapter and the last ones... Sorry sorry sorry sorry :(**

**Anyway, back and writing now! And an even longer chapter now! Feeling proud of myself!**

**As before REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! It really helps keep me writing and making my writing better :)**

**And before I forget - I don't own death note. Unfortunately. **

**Soooo... here we go!**

* * *

Masumi, as it seemed, was a twenty three year old arts graduate on the scout for work. Her flat was a mis-match of styles, cultures and random objects arranged in a laid back fashion. After arriving there, Ray had been served a selection of Japanese food – all of which he'd never tried before. Having finished the last course of chicken ramen, Masumi led Ray (who now had a rather bloated stomach) to the living room, where she was determined to find out who Ray was.

"So you're sixteen and your name is Ray."

"Yup"

"And you're in Tokyo because…?"

"I.. er… fell out of the sky…" Ray tried opting for the truth, even though he knew how ludicrous it sounded. Maybe in this world things were different?

Whether she believed him or not, Masumi raised an eyebrow. Ray ventured on. "Yeah, I fell out of a portal opened by a shinigami" Masumi's eyebrows rode further up her face. "And then… ah, forget it."

Thinking about it, how could Ray ever describe what was happening without someone calling out the men in white coats to lock him up? Who would believe the story of a person with no evidence, who claimed there to be a god of death travelling between different worlds? Hell, who would even believe in different worlds! To everyone here, Ray's previous life was just split into fragments of his imagination – all his memories were just more proof that he had gone mad.

Ray gave a pained smile "Yeah… Just forget it… I must have been hit pretty hard when I fell"

"And you don't remember anything else?"

"Not a thing"

* * *

Shopping overloading his hands, Ray turned the corner to the park where Masumi had arranged to pick him up. Due to his lack of knowledge of the place around him, Masumi had let Ray stay with her for the last three days, only asking him to do simple jobs, such as the shopping, as compensation. Today he had finished the shopping early, and so chose to perch himself on the corner of a park bench to give his legs a rest as he waited for Masumi. He was reading the newspaper, still trying to grasp who Kira was when he heard a voice behind him.

"What're you doing here?"

Ray turned around to see a teenager a few years older than him, with styled brown hair and a well selected range of clothes – an unbuttoned pin-stripe black suit with a white shirt and skinny black tie. He looked like he was destined for, if not already living, a high life. But the thing that made Ray flinch backwards were his eyes. His blood-red eyes.

"Hey did you hear me? What're you doing here?"

"Huh? What, is this your place or somethin'?"

The teenager furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

"L, if you think acting like an amnesiac will make me prove myself to be Kira then I'm insulted."

Ray was confused. Was it common here to accuse strangers of being Kira? He had thought Japan was a polite country – not one where you suspect random people of being mass murderers.

"Look, I don't know you and…" Ray once again was pierced by the fiery gaze of the boys eyes.

"And what?"

"Your eyes." Ray looked the boy straight in the eyes, and then made for the shopping with the intent of escaping, but the teen replied almost immediately in a way Ray hadn't expected.

"I have to say now that I have no idea what you're doing. Maybe you think brown eyes show a dark personality? In which case, take a look in the mirror. You can't get much darker than black." Ray finally figured, too late, that the teenager didn't know what had happened to his eyes; the teen grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards a grand hotel by the side of the park. "Right, L, you need to get back to headquarters."

Sighing as though there was no choice left, Ray grabbed the teens arm tightly and dropped to the floor like a stone. He kicked his leg out and swept the boys legs from under him, using the arm he held to get the teen into an arm lock on the floor.

"Now I really don't want to make anything of this here, but I don't know a person called L – I don't even have an L in my name, so stop calling me it. You're lucky I'm not one of those fighters who'll take out anyone before them, or I'll have made a mess of you. And also, mate, you need to get your eyes sorted. Maybe you haven't noticed, but you eyes are: a) not brown, b) red and c) pretty damn freaky." He noticed Masumi's car rounding the corner.

"Well I've gotta go now, but, for both our sakes, stay away from me."

He ran to the bench, grabbed the shopping he had to put down there before, and ran over to where Masumi had pulled the car over. "Masumi, get us out of here"

Masumi, who had never seen Ray worked up before, was put back. "What's up?"

"Some random guy came up to me and kept calling me L"

Masumi's eyes widened. "L? You're sure he called you L?"

"Yeah. He was pretty into it – and tried dragging me back to 'headquarters' whatever that is. So who is this L guy?"

"He's the world's greatest detective – the one working on the Kira case. Nobody knows what he looks like." Masumi turned onto the motorway.

"Well this guy thought I was him. Maybe I look the detective type? " Ray smirked.

"Yeah right. Did he say his name?"

"No."

"What did he look like then? Can you describe him?"

Ray thought back to the meeting. "He was about the same height as me, but a couple of years older and looked pretty clever, so in first year of university I reckon. And brown hair with…" Ray shuddered at the memory of his eyes.

"With…?"

"Red eyes."

Masumi glanced across at Ray, before returning her eyes to the road. "Red eyes. OK… Are you sure they were red? Not brown?"

"He seemed to think they were brown. Why do you say brown?"

"I think I know who it was. At least, I know of a genius boy of that description who's one the first year representatives a university I sometimes volunteer at. But he has brown eyes."

"You gonna tell me who he is?"

"Son of the chief of police, Yagami Light."

Masumi pulled into her flat's parking lot. "Tell you what, you can use my laptop to research him if you want, seeing as you've got nothing else to do."

"Great." Remembering the reason why he was there in the first place, Ray was determined to find out Kira, and it seemed the teenager he met earlier could know the person closest to finding him.

* * *

Yagami Light lay on his bed, deep in thought. The boy he had seen in the park had looked exactly L – he was the spitting image of him, identical in every way. That was, before he moved. His personality was much more rugged and L didn't seem like he was one for martial arts. And the part that troubled him the most – what the boy had said about his eyes. Maybe he was colour blind? No, Light dismissed the notion. Had he been so, he would have been used to it, and wouldn't have made such a fuss.

"Kukukukuku"

"You know something, don't you Ryuk." Light looked up at the god of death.

"This is interesting. I'd never expected him to do that." The shinigami smiled broadly.

"Him? " Light questioned.

"Guess." Ryuk's grin grew further.

"Well… I'd say another shinigami by your tone. It can't have been that boy – despite his rough tone, he seemed… lost. Am I right?"

"Yup."

"And are you going to enlighten me at all?"

"As I've said, I'm on nobody's side."

Light exhaled sharply. "Can you at least tell me what he meant by red eyes?"

"I'm feeling hungry."

"I'll get you as many apples as you want, just tell me."

Ryuk's eyes met those of Light. "Red eyes are… one of the abilities shinigamis give to humans that they make do their bidding"

"So he has a death note too?"

"Ah, no. All he has is an object like a bangle or a ring that gives him certain abilities, like being able to distinguish death note holders."

"So he knows I'm Kira?" Lights brain was now overcome with the probability that someone knew his identity as Kira.

"I don't think so. If it's the shinigami I think it was that gave him this power, he wouldn't have explained much." Ryuk turned to the window, looking out into Tokyo. "So what're you going to do?"

Light smiled. "Find him and use him"

* * *

**What do you think? I'll try to update soon, but please review! It's really a big help! :)**


	4. L

**Here you are, chapter numero 4. Again, I still don't own Death Note, and I still won't for however long I'm writing this, so take it that this applies to all following chapters.**

**Andd on with da story...**

* * *

Masumi stared at the computer screen.

"This can't be right. I'm sure there were two representatives - two students with a perfect score. Here it only says Yagami Light."

Having entered the apartment, Ray and Masumi had found the To-oh college website and, sure enough, there was a picture of the man Ray had met - or 'encountered' - that morning. Establishing the identity of Yagami Light had been pretty good in Rays books, and the idea of a mystery person associated with Light intrigued him more. Who was this person Masumi had seen? Why was he not on the website? And, the most important question, what if this mysterious figure was in fact L himself?

"So what did this other person look like?" Ray quized her again.

"As I said, I can't really remember much - I usually just zone out when its the speeches, but as far as I remember he had black hair, really dark eyes and, to be quite frank, looked like a psycopath." Masumi closed her eyes momentarily, and then suddenly opened them with an exclamation -

"Actually, now I think about it he was just like you! Exactly like you!"

Thinking about what she said, Masumi started back tracking. "Though obviously he was more psychopathic."

Ray raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying I'm already a psychopath?"

"Yes! Wait, no, I... Well, you know what I mean!" Masumi sighed with exasperation. "Anyway, what I meant to say, before I was so _rudely_" she gave Ray a stare "interrupted, was that he looked just like you – same height, same hair, same face. He even had the same accent as you. Like, freaky or what!"

Ray jumbled the thoughts around in his mind. Maybe this person was some kind of 'parallel universe' version of himself? Perhaps this was the person who possessed this 'death note' that Tuig had spoken of- the 'monster' taking over the world, who he now guessed to be Kira. If so, why was he so similar to such as evil character, and what did this Yagami Light have to do with anything? Was he working with Kira, or against him? If it were the latter, what was the meeting in the park about? Did Light think he was Kira?

Then a light went off in Rays head. His mysterious doppelganger was L. Why else would his pictures be unavailable and why else would Light be calling Ray L? It was the only answer that made sense. Ray turned sharply-

"Hideki Ryuga!" he was interrupted by Masumi.

"What?"

"Hideki Ryuga! The name of that representative. I thought it was odd when I first heard it" Masumi beamed at Ray, looked pleased with herself.

"Nope. Still clueless." Ray didn't understand why the name was so odd – it sounded just like any other Japanese name.

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you don't come from here – your Japanese is really good. Hideki Ryuga is the name of this singer/actor guy" Masumi gestured in the air, as if she could picture him in front of her. "He's getting quite popular you know."

To Ray this was all he needed. _Obviously L has such a common name so when people think of the name Hideki Ryuga, they think idol instead of him. _Ray was now certain that L was the other representative in the university picture, and that L looked and sounded exactly like him. Now all that was left to do was find himself.

* * *

"Stop. Back a bit. That's it. Right, now zoom in there".

"Where?".

"On my finger. You see that boy there? That's him".

Matsuda had been going over some discarded CCTV tapes when he was interrupted by Light barging through the door, claiming that L had a split personality. He had proceeded to show Matsuda the CCTV from a shop overlooking the park, which had coincidentally captured the meeting that had happened earlier in the day. Light had proceeded to persuade Matsuda that this split personality was a liability in the investigation – the other side of L could just walk off and get himself killed by Kira. Matsuda easily accepted Light's story, especially so now that Light had provided solid evidence to show that L had appeared outside of the headquarters.

"So basically, we need to stop L's other half, or whatever you call it, from getting himself killed accidentally by Kira."

Light, who was facing the opposite direction, smirked. Matsuda had fallen for his plan: hook, line and sinker.

"Precisely. L is the biggest asset to us in this investigation, and we cannot allow his safety to be compromised"

They agreed that they would present L face to face with the problem when the moment presented itself, but for the time being they would discretely prevent his leaving the hotel and monitor him.

"Ah, but Matsuda, I have some courses I have to attend for college, so I won't be able to keep an eye on L all the time."

Matsuda smiled "No problem, I can do it all myself – seeing as I'm here more or less all the time. I'll update you on anything that's happened whenever I see you."

Light imitated Matsuda's smile, although with a darker tone. "Thanks Matsuda. You're such a help to everyone in this investigation." Light headed towards the door while complimenting Matsuda.

"You think so?"

"Yes" Light turned through the door, and walked straight into the person they had just been discussing.

"Light-kun? What are you doing here?"

* * *

**And so L is introduced!**

**As before, review please:) It is a muchful help, gives me a reason to keep writing this ^^**


	5. Meeting

**And so here is *drrruuummmm roooolllllllllll* CHAPTER FIVE!**

* * *

Ray approached the front of To-oh University. Its pristine outer shell reminded Ray of Light Yagami – the university was shaped and presented as well as the man had been. The moment Ray stepped over the boundary of the college he was greeted by a member of staff-

"Why good morning, Ryuga-san. We had not seen you on the campus for some time and were hoping you'd be returning soon."

The old man had a posh, well articulated accent, and seemed to be more of a butler than a university worker. Masumi had explained earlier that most staff at the university were either "stuck up posh snobs" –as she had put it- or "us normal guys who actually have a life". Ray suspected the man before him fitted into the former category.

"Ryuga-san? Is there something the matter?"

Ray put on his most reassuring smile – which wasn't very – and spoke with the most bog-standard accent he could conjure.

"Nothing is the matter, Mr….?"

"Oohara."

"Thank you, Oohara-san. As a matter of fact, I was wondering if you had seen Yagami-ch..s..k..san" Ray jumbled his suffix, pleased of managing to fluke his way this far. He had decided the night before to go to To-oh University, under the identity of "Hideki Ryuga" and try to find Light Yagami – or possibly Kira, as he kept having to remind himself.

"Actually, you have just missed him. He left for his family home only-" he glanced at his also-pristine watch "-ah, less than ten minutes ago. I imagine you might be able to catch him up if you're as good a runner as you are a tennis player."

Ray added another point to his mental image of L – good at tennis.

"I'm afraid, Oohara-san, but I am unaware of where Yagami-" Ray coughed to mask the fact that he didn't know how L addressed Light. He was pleased with his whole 'analytic and well spoken' act he had put together for L – it seemed to be similar to L's actual personality. "-where Yagami's resides."

"Oh? Not a problem. If you take a left here" he indicated "and follow the road for about five hundred meters, and then take another left, it's the fourth house on the right."

Ray ran over the instructions in his head, and then gave another smile to the old man "Thank you Oohara-san. I shall now depart."

He started a steady jog in the direction he had been given, until he came to the house he had been told about. It was a pretty, but economically built house. A porch at the side of the house was lit with a dull yellow light, and a pentagonal face of the house loomed in front of it. Ray inhaled deeply, and approached the door.

* * *

Light fell onto his bed. He had been put into an unnecessary situation the day before. Light didn't like anything unnecessary.

_~Flashback~_

"_Light-kun? What are you doing here?" _

_L always miraculously appeared whenever he was being discussed – Light was still unsure as to whether this was intentional or just a group of coincidences. Regardless of what it was, he was standing before him now, and Light was running through his mind a list of possible excuses when Matsuda interrupted."Ah, L! We were just looking for you!" _

_Lights mind grew to a halt. He had chosen Matsuda to be in on his plan because of the young policeman's suggestibility and innocence. It seemed that that was also the error in his decision._

"_Oh?" _

_L's face told it all. The slight hint of humour mixed in the doubting grey palette of his face. He was intrigued by this, and could tell Light wasn't pleased with the way this was going._

"_Well, L, Light had found you outside taskforce headquarters yesterday morning , but the you there wasn't you, it was another version of you, but with your body, and the you there was a bit loopy and we needed to tell this you so the other you wouldn't go and get this you kil…" Matsuda paused and went back over what he was saying. "That didn't make sense did it? What I meant is that you have a split personality, who Light met in the park just outside of here –see, here on the CCTV." He pointed to the 'other version of L' on the CCTV footage._

_L peered in and had a look. Light was startled to see L's eyes widen slightly. For a man who was an expert in concealing emotion, this slight deviation from a blank face showed Light L was deeply shocked by this other person. L leaned in closer, constantly examining the footage._

"_This is… unprecedented."_

_~Finish~_

Light let out a large sigh. Ryuk appeared in the corner of his room, folding his oversized wings away. "What's up, Light?"

Light slowly sat up on his bed to face the Shinigami. "Not only has L now dispersed all the threads I was tying together, but he now also wants to find this person."

"Oh?" Ryuk plucked a maggot out of his matted fur. "Why's that?"

Light shrugged. "I'm not too sure. Currently, I reckon he knows this person for the past sometime, which would account for the shock when he saw the picture – I'm sure he wouldn't be so surprised at just an image of himse-"

The door bell rang.

* * *

Ray waited for a minute, then rang the door bell again. He wasn't usually one to get nervous, but he could feel his stomach turning over and over. He looked at his appearance in the glass. Why did his hair always become scruffy, and his stance always become lazy no matter how he tried? He straightened up. _Nope, still not any taller. _Sighing, he looked down the street to see if anyone was there. There were a few passersby, but no-one that seemed headed for the house he was by. A gentle click sounded from behind him, and he turned around into the face of the man he had been searching for.

He was there. Stood in front of him on his very own doorstep was the boy who had brought about this mess. He was gazing into the street, but turned his head back to meet Light's sharply after the door was open.

"Well this is a surprise."

"Light Yagami, right? The name's Ray Cooper. I believe we've met." Ray held out his hand, taking the most confident posture he could muster while narrowing his eyes. Light glanced at his hand briefly, then grasped it firmly.

"I believe we have, Mr. Cooper. You are foreign, I presume?" Light replied in perfect English.

"Yeah, but don't bother speaking English. I can speak Japanese", even though he still wasn't sure why his Japanese was so flawless.

Light returned to Japanese "And very well, I must say. Would you like to come inside? I think I owe you an apology." He waved his arm out, beckoning Ray in. Ray planted his foot inside the household, following Light through to the main room.

"Feel free to sit down. Can I get you a drink?" Light enquired.

"I could kill a glass of water."

Light returned from the kitchen with a large glass of water and a small cup of tea for himself. "Firstly, I must apologise for my behaviour yesterday. I mistook you for someone, but I couldn't find you again to say sorry."

"No probs. Livened up my day a bit. Though I don't usually like using violence – I always get carried away. You're damn lucky it didn't turn violent."

"Sorry again. I wasn't aware… Is there anything I can do as compensation?"

In the distance, there was a faint click of the door.

"Sure, take me to L." Ray announced, looking up to find Light had been joined by another man. The man was much older than Light, and donned a short moustache, glasses and swept-over hair. He was wearing a suit, but a police badge was visible peeking out over his blazer pocket.

"Light, L, Tell me what's going on" the chief of police commanded.

"Father? I didn't know you were going to be back so early."

"Well he-" the elder Yagami indicated to Ray "sent everyone from the taskforce home early, saying there was something he had to look into."

Ray put on his 'L' act, intending to confuse the man even more "Indeed I had, and still do. May I ask you that you remove yourself from this room in due course, so that I may continue this conversation with Yagami" he coughed after saying the teen's name.

"Of course L, I was just rather confused."

Ray smiled. "It is no great matter Yag-"

"Hey wait" Light interrupted Ray's deception. "Father, this isn't L, this is someone I met in the park the other day – I myself thought he was L. In fact this is Ray Cooper." Light gave a passing glare to Ray, who just muttered "_busted"._

"He certainly looks and acts exactly the same, but I trust you Light, so I must now ask Cooper-kun who exactly he is and what he is doing in my house."

"I was just doing so" Light updated his father on how he had met Ray and what had happened so far in their meeting that day.

Soichiro stood, firmly in thought for a lengthly amount of time before he said "So, Cooper-kun –"

"Just call me Ray"

"Ray, you want to meet L. And what do you have that you think will benefit this investigation?"

"Me?" Ray smirked. "I know a bit. Who Kira is, how he kills, that sorta thing." Ray kept looking straight at the chief of police, but was aware of Light staring at him.

"And how can we take your word?" Light asked.

"I'll tell you a bit now if you want. Kira has a death note. That's how he is ruling over everyone" Ray glanced over to Light, finding that his guess had been spot on due to the narrowing of his eyes.

"So, what do you say? Think I can see L?"

Soichiro and Light looked at each other. They agreed to discuss the matter in a different room, while Ray was left in the main room. After five minutes they returned, and told Ray that they would take him to L, but only to let L see him, and talk to him over a speaker system. It seemed Light had ironically convinced his father that Ray could be Light.

They put a blindfold on Ray, and bundled him in a car. The drive lasted a whole hour, but Ray thought that it was just so that he didn't know how far away the hotel was. Either way, he had ended up being walked through a hotel foyer (he could tell by the general murmer and clear, almost polished sound his shoes made on the floor) and was now in the main lift, still blindfolded, and being guided by Soichiro and Light. _Finally _he thought _I get to meet L._

* * *

L inspected the CCTV feed from the lift for the seventh time. Although all the facts led to the conclusion, the back of his mind, though unprofessional, still willed for it not to be true.

BB was back.

* * *

**Dun dun DUN! **

**Sorry, couldn't help it... o_O**

**As before, reviews, ideas, or just anything you want to say (well, within reason... ) ****'twould be much appreciated.**


	6. Jam

**A new chapter in a day! I'm feeling pleased! This one took me some time to get my head around, so bear with me if it doesn't make much sense in parts, hopefully you'll get what the whole idea is... **

**Well, what can I say? Enjoy :)**

* * *

"We've arrived?" Ray questioned.

Soichiro Yagami uttered one single word. "Yes."

Ray heard a pass card being swiped through the door, and the click of an opening door took Ray into a room. "Where do you want him, Ryuzaki?"

"Just on the chair, thank you Yagami-san."

Ray halted suddenly. The voice was just like his own. The tone was different to how he normally spoke, but it was exactly like his impression of L. No wonder the elder Yagami had been drawn in by his act. Ray resumed movement, and sat down on the chair he had been led to. The voice spoke again. "I would ask you now to leave, so as I might ask _Cooper-kun _some questions."

"All of us? What if he's Kira?"

"He isn't." The voice spoke surely, and no objection was made as a soft murmur of feet indicated the taskforce had left the room. Apart from the sound of someone eating, there was now silence. The situation stayed like this for a minute or so until there was the ringing sound of cutlery being laid down on a plate. Then the dimmed dragging of a chair being brought closer to him, across what seemed to be a large, but well filled room. Two muted steps brought a figure onto the chair, making Ray wonder why the occupant was standing on it. When the person started talking, it became apparent from the height of the five words that the speaker was in fact crouching on the chair. "How did you do it?"

Being focused on the actions of the speaker, Ray failed to realise immediately that the speaker had not quite made sense. "Huh? What d'you mean?"

A shuffle. "How did you do it?"

"Nope. Still not getting it. You are L, right?"

"Correct"

"Well then, please slow down your thoughts. Some of us can't follow what you're thinking by just saying 'How did you do it?' in a mysterious voice."

Another shuffle. "It simply… interests me to know how you managed to… escape one of the most heavily guarded prisons in the entire U…S…A." L paused sporadically within points of his speech, as if he were constantly calculating within every word he spoke.

"Ah, well, small problem there, I've never been in one. And do you mind getting this thing off my head? We both know who Kira is, so you don't have to go along with the whole Kira-suspecting thing…"

L, unseen by Ray, mentally frowned. The probability of two people being identical was phenomenally low, to the point of it being practically impossible. Yet, judging by the boy's words, he wasn't BB - meaning that there were three identical people in the world. A feat that was impossible. "Who are you?"

"Me? Great, finally we've got to something I understand. The name's Cooper. Ray Cooper."

There was no repose.

"James Bond? No? Sheesh… Don't you have a sense of humour in this world?"

"I am unaware of anyone called James Bond."

"No James Bond? You guys are missing out."

There was a small pause. Then the sliding of a chair backwards and the patter of feet round the side of his chair, until the cloth over his eyes was removed. As his eyes adjusted to the light he could faintly see a figure moving back round the side of him, to the chair in front. His eyesight now back, he could see he was, as he had thought, in a large hotel room. Curtains were drawn along the large windows on one wall, and a large selection of sweets and cake lined another. Odd scatterings of televisions and computers were dispersed throughout the room by or on tables, chairs, bookcases and piles of tapes.

And in front of him was a mirror. Or so it could've been. For L, the person in front of him, was an exact replica of himself – coal black, unruly hair, with eyes of the same colour and an ever-hunched stature. Ray could understand how Light had mistaken him for the detective. L was looking directly at him, causing Ray to break off from his stare and look downwards. After a moment, he realised what he was looking at, and smiled. Before him was a plate of red, sticky jam. Ray lent forward and sniffed it. Strawberry. He breathed in, inhaling the sweet scent.

"You can have it if you like."

Ray smiled. "Really? If you say so…" He picked up the pot, and started scooping it straight into his mouth with his fingers.

L stared. L was in a state he wasn't usually. He was confused. Here was a person who looked exactly like himself and BB, and shared BB's love for strawberry jam, yet was denying that he was BB in a manner that was much unsuited to that of the psychopath. Although he hadn't always been able read Beyond as he had the rest of the population, he would never have put him as one to put on such a blatant deceit.

Meanwhile, Ray had finished the pot of jam. Ever since he had been small, strawberry jam had been the way to solve things. After his mother had been killed in a brutal stabbing, he had eaten strawberry jam. His father remarried, leaving his son to fend for himself on the streets. Ray had eaten strawberry jam. His father's new house blew up in a 'gas leak'. Ray ate strawberry jam. Every time it seemed as if his life was an unfair mix of death and betrayal, he had eaten strawberry jam. He couldn't even remember where the habit had come from.

But it seemed that after eating it, things got better. When his mother died, his father had started caring for him more. When his father remarried, he learnt how to fight and act as well as a professional by living on the streets. When his father had died, he had been accepted into an orphanage school for 'special cases', as Ray had nick-named it.

The jam solved everything.

"I see you still are partial to that type of jam." L began conversing, hoping to unearth the identity of the person before him.

"I didn't know you knew I liked it in the first place."

Ray spotted a second pot of jam by another chair. He looked questioningly at L, and then hopped over to the pot and dug in. He was a quarter of the way through this second pot when an intercom sounded. "L, this is Watari. I have something you may like to see."

L pressed another button back. "I shall be through in due course."

He got up and proceeded to the door. "I must advise you, all the doors are locked and there is no other way out of this room."

He then left.

Ray shrugged '_as if I would try to escape'_. He carried on eating his pot of strawberry jam, until he was interrupted by a sudden blaze of orange light in the room. The gnarled shape of the creature that had brought him into the whole situation stalked out.

"Mooig." Ray tried pronouncing the Shinigami's name while eating but to no avail.

"Ray. How're you doing?"

Ray swallowed, coughing a few times to check he could talk. "I'm doing okay. It would help to know what the heck is going on here, though. How come me and Mr Detective Guy look the same? And it seems he knows someone else who looks the same too."

Tuig twisted his crooked head to the side. "That's what I've come here to tell you. Although it was fun to watch you potter around completely oblivious of what's happening, I thought it would be nice-" the Shinigami smirked "-to tell you a bit of what happening."

Tuig drew a breath and started his explanation. "Right. To start with, you've got to know that each world we Shinigamis look upon have similar things. I guess you've noticed some similarities and differences between this world and yours."

Ray nodded. "Tell me about it. No James Bond, but McDonalds everywhere."

"Right. Well, while there are these objects that are the same, there aren't any people that are the same across worlds. It's written in the book of some powerful bloke that as a rule people, animals, and plants are never the same across universes. You still with me?"

Ray nodded again, and Tuig carried on. "That is, with one exception. Called the 'aberrare' by us shinigamis, there is a person, or group of people I suppose you could say, who are in all universes. Simply, they keep the worlds combined."

Ray interrupted him. "And you're saying I'm one of them."

"Yes. And as you have probably guessed, the detective L is another who like you doesn't belong to this world. In fact, a psychopathic serial killer is the aberrare of this world."

Ray paused, taking the information in. This was certainly a twist on what he was expecting. "But why is L here then?"

"For the same reason that you are. A shinigami was bored."

Ray questioned the Shinigami further, but he gave no further detail.

"So, who is this psychopathic serial killer I'm like?"

"Him?" Tuig gave a cruel, knowing smile. "His name is Beyond Birthday."

* * *

This confirmed it. L was now certain that the person they had found wasn't BB, and was most likely – 86% certain- called Ray Cooper, as had been claimed to be. The CCTV he had just been shown by Watari was the reason for this.

Half way across the other side of the world, a CCTV camera followed the movements of a white-clad figure, eyes closed, lying on a prison bed. Seconds passed and the person, irritated by the constant moving of the camera, opened his eyes.

His blood red eyes.

* * *

**Phheewww... That was hard. Either way, tell me what you think! Maybe we'll see BB in later chapters... ?**


	7. America

**Whoaa... Over 2000 words! *dances***

**Sorry to anyone who gets this without any breaks... For some reason it won't let me put them in... I've retried it now, but can someone tell me if it still has no breaks? Thanks**

* * *

L quietly closed the door behind him, entering the room where Ray had been left. The boy was sitting on a chair next to an increasingly long line of jam pots.

"Ray."

"Yesh." Ray still hadn't mastered the art of speaking while eating jam.

"I am going to ask you some questions. It would be advisable for you to answer."

Ray slouched back in his chair, digging into another pot of jam. "Fire away."

"What is your name?"

"Ray Cooper."

"Age?"

"Sixteen."

"Home town?"

"I move around a lot."

"Where were you last staying?"

"Mmm… Place called Winchester. It's in England."

L's face worked hard to keep his ever-emotionless mask on. "Where in Winchester?"

"In a house."

L simply stared at him till Ray elaborated. "A big house."

L could tell Ray wasn't going to extend of his answer, so moved on to the next question, mentally saving his reluctance to answer into a sufficient slot in his memory. "Your parents?"

"Dead." Ray's face stayed as emotionless as the detective's. Having had to deal with issues – mentally and physically – throughout his life, it had become almost second nature to suppress any remorse or regret. He tended just to focus on the future.

Meanwhile, L's brain was on fire. Not literally, otherwise the vast amount of highly flammable sugar he lived on might have caught fire, but either way, his thoughts were running over themselves.

Orphan.

Living in Winchester.

Sixteen years old – just the age at which Beyond had started attending Wammy's house. Which was in Winchester. That, doubled with his appearance, would have led anyone – including the detective – to conclude that this boy was indeed BB. But the CCTV had been proven to be real and it was certainly BB that was in the prison. L was certain – he had analyzed it himself.

There was one question left. One important one that only himself and BB had ever known. If this person was truly a replica of the serial killer and L, he would be the only other person in the world to know.

"Do you have a tattoo?"

Ray looked surprised at first, and then wary. "How do you know that?"

"Answer the question. Do you have a tattoo?"

Ray gave a suspicious look at L before looking into the pot of jam. "Yes."

"What is it and where is it?"

Ray swept his hair away from his neck. He had purposefully grown it so he could hide the embarrassing mark on the back of his neck, and had now considered the tattoo practically non-existent due to the lack of people noticing it.

"Here." He said, pointing just under the hair line on the back of his neck.

L now knew that he was dealing with a new case unlike any other that he had previously faced. He had found it alarming when BB had entered Wammy's house with an identical, also unexplained tattoo. The alarm he had felt then, which had led him to monitor Beyond's future movements, he was feeling again, only amplified beyond realms he had never expected he could feel. All due to a small image on the back his neck. And on BB's. And now, it seemed, on Ray's.

A small strawberry.

* * *

"What are they doing in there?" Light fumed for the umpteenth time. He paced around the room, suspect of the conversations they could be having.

"Come on Light, calm down! Ryuzaki's probably just doing a thorough investigation - he is the world's best detective…" Matsuda said cheerfully.

"But why is he so hung up on this one person?"

Aizawa replied this time. "Well, it's not every day you meet someone looking exactly like you. He's probably just being security conscious."

"Still…" Light flopped into a near chair, giving up.

They sat there in silence until the door open, and L walked out with his normal emotionless mask on, closely followed by Ray, who was eating a pot of jam. It had got to the stage where the task force could only tell the two apart by their clothes.

As if he hadn't noticed them, L carried on walking straight past the task force and made his way to the front door. "Err, Ryuzaki? Where are you going?" Soichiro asked.

"America."

"What?" Several questions erupted from the group, the task force wanting to understand why L was suddenly leaving the headquarters. "What about Kira?"

"Compared to the problem I am currently facing, Kira is unimportant." L proceeded to swiftly exit through the door. Ray followed, but stopped momentarily before he reached the hallway. "Who bought this jam?"

A man with spiky black hair raised his hand.

"Good taste." Ray then resumed his path after the detective.

The taskforce were left shocked in the wake of a mystery 'more important' than Kira. Whatever it was that L was so concerned with, it must be extremely dangerous for it to be impacting this much on the case. A small tremor ran through the group, before Light decided to take an authoritative role. "L knows what he's doing; we should leave him be and continue to work on the Kira case. After all, we still have all of us."

Despite his confident words, Light was internally debating what to do. How was he going to manage keeping an eye on L – the reason for his joining the task force – if L wasn't even there? His debate was soon interrupted by the melodic chime of his phone. He flicked it open, looking at the screen. Misa. Damn, he hadn't seen her recently, so she was probably having a fit. "Hello?"

"Light-kun! You haven't talked to me in agggeeessss!" She emphasised most of the words in her speech, unaware that it irritated Light.

"Ah, sorry Misa. I've got a bit of a problem at the moment…"

"Do you want me to do something?" Misa subtly hinted to Light.

"No, no. Unless you're going to America soon?"

"Uuuummmm… I don't think soo." She paused for thought. "I can ask my manager if there's any work over there if you want!"

"Really Misa? That would be great." Light played his usual card.

"Anything for Light-kun!"

Light breathed a sigh of relief as he ended call. She might be a burden at times, but Misa could be easily manipulated and her line of work meant she had many connections.

Minutes later, Light's phone sounded again, indicating a new message.

_Gooodd newwss!_ – it read – _I've been booked into do a photo shoot and publicity tour around America! Is Light-kun happy? –Misa ;) xxxxxxx_

Light rubbed his eyes before sending a message back congratulating her. He really had to get Misa to stop overusing letters and punctuation.

* * *

"So…you're going to America?"

"Yup."

"With your brother?"

"Yup."

"Who you couldn't remember before now?"

"Yup."

"But you're sure it's him?"

"Yup."

"Are you going to say anything other than yup?"

"… yup! See ya!"

Masumi looked at the now hung-up phone in her hand, slightly dazed. Ray had called her up, and told her that he had managed to meet his long-lost brother, who he had decided to go to America with. However much Masumi thought about it, she was sure Ray wasn't telling her something, but she decided to just go with it. In reality, she didn't have any reason to worry about what Ray did, nor did she have any legal hold over him. But somehow, she felt as if she should be there for him – as if her were a little brother.

_Hell with this_ she thought _it's not as if I've got any permanent jobs here or anything._

She powered up her laptop, and went to make some tea while it started up. As she was reaching into the cupboard in search of a mug, she noticed a pot of strawberry jam sitting along the surface of the counter. _Honestly, I can't understand his weird obsession with jam. Maybe his brother likes it to?_ Masumi smiled, finding her mug. Once she had a cup of the warm drink in front of her, she headed back to the sofa her laptop was temporarily resting on. She laid the tea down on the floor, and logged onto the computer. Once it had finished loading, she opened the internet browser and searched for the website she had in mind. After a few red herrings, she found what she had been looking for.

_Right, Mr Ray_ Masumi mused _I'm coming to getcha._

* * *

The flight was long but not without interest, due to the rather obscure disguise Ray had been led to wear. He had to admit, Watari was good at makeup.

Ray was sat in a seat next to the detective, still irritated that he was the only one to be in disguise. L had given a perfectly detailed reason for this, which had made sense at the time, but was dually forgotten when the disguise had been finished. To cut to the chase, he was dressed as a girl. When Ray had reluctantly put the clothes on, Watari have given a sly smile, and L had frowned.

"_Watari?" L had asked expectantly._

"_They were the only clothes readily available." Watari turned to face Ray "My apologies, Mr Cooper."_

Either way, they had got past the security without problems, under the act of a father taking his son and daughter to meet their mother in America. Although firstly embarrassed with the disguise, Ray soon started pranking the other passengers on the plane, using his 'womanly allure' to draw people in. When the flight finally touched down in New York, Watari led the way to a black saloon parked in a private lot at the airport. After a short drive, they pulled up outside a hotel. They got out of the car; Watari handed the key to a parking attendant, and headed inside.

The hotel was a large expanse of polished marble floors, ornate wallpaper and high-end furnishings. All the people inside were either dressed in designer clothes or the tailored uniform of the hotel staff. Two glass lifts introduced the upper floors via a cut-away section of the building. The two 'siblings' – Ray had regained the embarrassment of wearing the disguise – waited by the lounge area as Watari checked in. "L?"

L gave him a reprimanding stare as Ray corrected himself "Sorry, Ryuzaki…"

"Yes Ray-kun?"

"Is anyone actually going to tell me what's going on?"

L yet again gave Ray a disapproving look. "I already have, although you seemed more interested in some jam at the time."

"…Opps."

L sighed. "Watari shall fill you in later."

"Tell me now." Ray demanded.

L paused, giving Ray time to hopefully reconsider his demand. It wasn't at the top of L's list to re-brief Ray, but after the pause lengthened, it seemed that he would have to. "Some years ago, I was involved in a case of serial murders in New York. The perpetrator was someone who had observation and deductive powers that rivalled my own, and in fact had been the one closest to becoming my successor. He looked exactly like you – and myself, to be precise."

L looked thoughtful, and Ray understood who the person was. With one check… "What was his name?"

"Beyond Birthday, BB"… Ray knew he was spot on with his guess.

Watari was now returning with their luggage and keys, so Ray asked L his final question. "So we're gonna meet this BB person?"

"Correct."

* * *

Masumi arrived at the airport, suitcase packed, and ready to go in search of Ray. He hadn't left an address, or a number, but she was nonetheless determined that she would be able to find him. As she boarded the plane, she quickly observed the passengers. Mostly businessmen and families, Masumi made her way to her seat, which was next to a cute girl with blond hair, wearing gothic clothes. Masumi rolled her eyes. _What some people wear…_ She put her hand luggage in the rack above the seats, and sat down next to the girl. On second glance, she seemed familiar. "Uh, excuse me, but do I know you?"

The girl gave an obvious posing-smile. "I'm the model – Misa Amane."

Masumi grimaced in anticipation of the flight. Normally, she tried to stay away from the 'fashion types'. Being from the part of the population unconcerned with clothes, she never managed to hold conversation with 'that' type for over a minute before wanting to go live in a pig sty.

The girl frowned, seemingly displeased. "You do know who I am, right?"

This was going to be a very long trip. "Yes. As I said, I recognised you."

Misa perked up in her seat and smiled at the woman next to her "I like you! What's your name?"

"Masumi Imai. Nice to meet you."

* * *

**To all you lovely people who have reviewed/favorited/followed :**

**THANK YOU!**

**You make my day :)**

**Review again, and to you guys (I know you're there) who haven't, let me know whatcha think. Everything help - ideas, thoughts, questions (which I'll try to answer), so go ahead and give me a piece of your mind (not in the agressive way, mind... ^^)!**


	8. Beyond

**Sorry about the massive gap between updates, but our internet decided to die a few weeks ago and I've had to do a bit of looking around to find free wi-fi. Luckily the search is over!**

**As you probably have noticed, this chapter is extra extra long to account for the weeks I haven't updated, and I've also re-written the first chapter (well, it's similar to the old one, but it gives a bit more detail on Ray), so if you want to re-read it, go ahead. **

**After this, I should be able to update as per usual again, but it depends on how often I can sneak down to this lovely coffee shop I've found…. **

**Anyway, on with the show!**

* * *

"So… Where're you staying?" Misa yet again pestered Masumi.

"Like I said, I'm not too sure. It just depends on where my brother is."

Misa had been constantly quizzing Masumi on who she was, why she was going to America, what her favourite foods were – the questioning was endless. She had ended up calling Ray her brother – though it wasn't just through a need of preventing more questions, but also because that was how Ray seemed to her. A brother. The idea was growing on her endlessly.

"Helloo? Are you listening?"

Masumi blinked as Misa suddenly appeared in her face. "Huh? Sorry, I spaced out…"

Misa, yet again, smiled. _Where does she get her endless happiness from? I swear she would still smile if she were run over by a bulldozer… _"I was saying you can stay with me! I'm going to be moving around the place, so you'll be able to search everywhere for your brother!"

"But-"

Misa frowned. "You're staying with me." Her face then lightened up. "We're friends, right?"

Masumi thought about her offer, and realised that Misa was giving her transport around the USA, as well most probably five-star accommodation, all for free. "Yeah. We're friends. Thanks Misa."

The girl just smiled.

* * *

"I still don't see why this is necessary." Ray grumbled, a bag over his head and his hands chained behind his back. Early that morning he had been woken up, told that they were going to a prison, and bundled into what he _presumed_ to be another elaborate car. That is, he _presumed_ due to the bag on his head blocking his vision.

"Protocol cannot be changed."

"Screw protocol, I have a _bag _over my head. A _bag._ I don't care what protocol wants; I have a bag over my head." Ray grumbled.

"Please stop repeating that. I can see you have a bag over your head."

"Oh for-" Ray stopped himself, almost sensing the warning in the silent atmosphere. "What's even so bad about this place?"

"Nothing in particular. One or two serial killers, but the rest are mostly sentenced for bland charges such as terrorism and rape. A few interesting robbers."

"How is that nothing in particular? That's the worst there is – wait, are you saying serial killers are interesting?"

"They tend to… propose more complex problems."

Ray shrugged "'Cause it's fine to kill people, as long as it's entertaining."

Ray could hear L pausing. "Killing is wrong."

"Rigghht." Ray drew out the word, trying to convey as much sarcasm as possible.

"We have arrived." Watari's deep voice sounded from the front seats. After slowly driving through an elaborate maze of roads, bridges and security checkpoints, the car pulled to a halt and the door was opened. Ray felt a tugging behind his head; the blindfold came off and light flooded into his eyes, the brightness overwhelming. "Geez. Feel free to give me some warning next time so I don't get blinded."

There was no reply since, Ray had noticed, a uniformed man was talking to Watari and L still in the car. Remembering to use his alias, Ray called out to L. "Hey, Ryuzaki? Why are you staying in the car?"

L kept his head down while replying. "I do not like to show my face. Watari shall be the contact, using a computer so that I can communicate."

Ray nodded. "I get it. And what do I do?"

L turned his head to the right slightly. "You go with Watari, but wait outside. When the cue is given, you shall enter the room acting as myself. You shall be fitted with an earpiece through which instructions may be given, although the majority of the acting will be left to you."

Ray grinned. Deception was his forte. After muttering a quick thanks and goodbye to L, he strode in the direction of Watari. "I've talked to Ryuzaki - you got anything for me?"

The elder man simply nodded, and opened the brief case he was carrying, handing it over to Ray. "Everything is in there. I suggest you park the vehicle, and change in the back."

The briefcase was surprisingly light, making Ray wonder if there was actually anything in it. Either way, he headed back to the car, started the engine, and followed the attendants round to a parking lot, where he warily parked the car. "I hate parking."

At first, it seemed as if L hadn't heard Ray's comment, but he soon spoke. "You are under the legal driving age."

Although there wasn't a question, Ray could guess what L was implying. "It's another thing I picked up over time."

He finished parking the car, and flicked a switch on the dashboard, causing the windows to darken dramatically. He flipped open the briefcase, finding inside clothes similar to L's – a white, long sleeved top; regular jeans and the promised earpiece. After slipping into the clothes he noticed a problem. "There's no shoes."

L nodded, "It is customary for me to not wear them. Therefore, in order for your character to be correct, you should not wear them."

Although it was much against his wished, Ray grunted, understanding, and proceeded to put the earpiece in. Fortunately, his long hair covered the device, rendering it invisible to anyone who looked. After tapping it a few times, he flew backwards when the distorted voice of L boomed into his ear - "I would advise you to make you way to Watari now."

Ray swung around. "You could've just said, instead of freaking me out like that!"

"A test run is always required before use."

"You could've warned me."

Ray glared at L and exited the car. To L, sitting inside, watching Ray 'get into character' was an interesting process. It was almost like he was moulding himself into the role. As he ducked under the car door his head tilted downwards; his eyes seemed to gain a complex depth; his toes curled round. Although he didn't show it, the detective was amused by Ray's portrayal of himself, at the same time intrigued by the way he looked. L had never really thought about his appearance – it was just another unneeded factor to detract from whichever case he was working on. Needless to say, he had never, before the Kira investigation, had to appear before people other than Watari – and Watari wasn't a fashion critic. Either way, he was content with his appearance and was not anticipating it changing any time soon.

Ray, on the other hand, was fully immersed in the role he had been given. As he followed the directions being relayed to him over the earpiece, he flicked his eyes in all directions – at the tarmac ground; along a brick wall; at various guards. At random points he held his gaze, constantly observing and deducing. While he kept his eyes wide, they were tense – cold and calculating. Ray wasn't just acting as L, on the contrary: he _was_ L. His role had completely engulfed him, meaning Ray thought as L did, enabling him to be as great a detective as L. He walked through the gates, casually glancing at the armed patrols.

_That woman -_he mused, while watching a muscular woman in military uniform march with a group along the perimeter -_rushed into work this morning, ate in the car, and still arrived late. Her boss- _his focus shifted to a taller man, equally well built- _is, however, unconcerned with his colleague's lateness, due to his pleasing achievement of… 50? No, the wrist has a stronger mark… 75, one-handed press-ups this morning._

Tearing his eyes away from the group, Ray walked through the entrance, to where Watari stood. "I see you have changed, Ryuzaki."

Ray nodded at this and enquired "Why must we wait?"

Surprising Ray, the old man rolled his eyes, "The administration team do not agree with your wish to remove all CCTV from the room."

Ray raised his eyebrow "You have the laptop."

"Yes."

Undoing the briefcase, Watari took out a sleek laptop, laying it on the table. Only micro-seconds after he touched the power-up button, the distorted voice of L demanded the cameras be removed from the room. The staff were suddenly all too keen to do so. _The power of L._

More guards came and unlocked the first door, huge dull-silver locks staggering away, leaving the door to swing round in an oiled silence and the bodyguard and the 'detective' to walk through. Ray noticed the fingertips of the guard to the side of him, making a quick deduction. _A musician. Cello or possibly double bass._ Shuffling past the guard, he made his way through the following series of gates, switches and locks, until at last he emerged out the other side of the corridor into a large, light grey room, with a single florescent bulb running down the length of the room. A large window on the opposite wall of the square space showed an identical room on the other side, save for a metal chair in its centre. The chair, although empty, had an intricate knot of buckles, chains, padlocks and handcuffs that all draped lazily on the cold stone floor. A couple of attendants wheeled a screeching table through the narrow door behind them; Ray edged to the side to avoid it. When they arrived at the window, the table was set down, and the attendants walking away so that Ray could fully see what lay on the table. "As you can see, we have arranged for a microphone, so you may speak to the detainee anonymously."

Watari thanked the man, and inspected the equipment for himself. "It all seems in order."

He brought his head up expectantly up to the guard who was now starting showing signs of fear – signs that were practically invisible to the untrained eye. Ray could see them.

"You want to see the prisoner now?"

"Yes."

The guard remained where he was stood for a collection of seconds, before deciding that it would be best to fetch 'the prisoner'. As he left the room, the other guards exited as well, which Watari explained was since he requested complete privacy during the questioning. He went on to run through the plan.

"I understand. So when Ryuzaki gives the word, I enter." Ray confirmed.

"Yes. Ah, see, here he is arriving."

As he said it, the door limped open, spitting out a single man before pulling closed again. The man settled in the corner, assessing his surroundings. A small smile trickled down Ray's lips. He had know to expect this, but seeing him brought back all the facts, figures, memories and thoughts associated with the figure. Beyond Birthday – orphan, successor, serial killer, inmate - all the knowledge from the file he had been given and more – duplicate, strawberries.

Aberrare.

Ray could feel his 'L' character being drawn out of him and his normal self returning, so he returned his focus to the person before him. Like himself and L, he had shoulder-length, scraggy, soot-coloured hair, and weary eyes set onto a pale face, which was heavily scarred. Unlike Ray and the detective, his shoulders were turned back, his spine straight – his posture like that of a Victorian schoolboy. In fact, it was the least like his own he had ever seen. And then his eyes. They were bright red – the exact colour Ray had seen to be Light Yagami's. Ray bit his tongue. He would have to discover the reason why later.

Beyond finished his analysis of the room. "May I sit down? I trust the chains won't be needed. Currently." The man's eyes glinted as he drew out the last, layered word. As he spoke, he twisted his head to the side in an eerie movement.

Watari moved towards the door, and turned to Ray. "Watch him."

He then opened the door, and made his way inside.

* * *

A low roar announced the arrival of the plane at New York airport. No sooner they landed, than Misa had grabbed the hand of Masumi, and dragged her out of the plane. Masumi had to admit, Misa was a bore, but a useful one. She had prepared all accommodation, food, shopping trips – Masumi grimaced – and had a plan of how to search for her brother. As she was dragging Masumi out of the airport, into a waiting car, Misa's phone rang, so Masumi sat awkwardly in the car, listening to a fragmented conversation.

"Light-kunn! You called!"

Masumi assumed this Light person was her boyfriend by the tone Misa was taking in.

"Yup! We're just leaving the airport."

"Yeah, don't worry though. Masumi's real nice – we're friends!"

An over-protective boyfriend it seemed like. No surprise there – any man would be cautious with a 'catch' like Misa. Masumi rolled her eyes. _What men want these days..._

"Wait… I'll get something to write with…" Misa gestured in the air for a pen, and Masumi quickly dug through her bag to find her sketchbook and a pencil. She tore out a page, and handed it to Misa, who smiled a quick thanks.

"Right…. How do you spell that?" Misa put the pencil to the paper, and gradually started spelling out a word, only speaking to indicate she had written the letter. Masumi watched, trying to guess the word to come.

_C… O… O… P… _Coop? A chicken coop possibly? No, Misa was still writing. _E… R… _Cooper? Wasn't that Ray's surname? It must've been popular in America. Misa kept writing.

_R… A… Y. _Misa finished writing.

Cooper, Ray.

Or as he would say it, Ray Cooper.

Ray Cooper.

* * *

Watari, completely hidden under his dark clothing, emitted an equally dark mood as he paced around the room, which B.B. sat in the centre of. His footsteps sounded like wooden blocks hitting the floor, and the sound of them echoed around the room, filling the silence. After realising Watari wasn't going to speak, Beyond smiled a twisted, sly smile and spoke. "Are we going to begin?"

Watari nodded, and flipped open his briefcase to reveal a laptop inside. He smoothly pressed the power-up key, and within moments the recognisable Old-English-Text 'L' appeared on the screen.

"B," the distorted voice began "I have an issue I would like to present you with."

"Oh really?" Beyond said and, sat much like a businessman with his chin resting in a hand, laughed. At that moment, Ray could see into his mind. The laugh was covered in hate, entertainment, scientific interest and, more so than everything else, insanity. Even stood behind the quadruple-glazed window – which had been installed for security measures – Ray could hear the madness _dripping_ off his words.

Despite this, L was completely unnerved.

"It is to do with a small strawberry. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

B, still unfazed by the man behind the screen, raised an eyebrow in interest. "I understand. Dogo on." He drawled, emphasising the 'do'.

L didn't reply, but moments later B's face was lit up by the light of the computer screen. Ray spoke out loud in the separate room, having been reinsured by Watari that the rooms weren't bugged. "What does it say?"

The same electronic voice that had come from the computer came over his earpiece. "I simply informed him Watari had checked for bugs and that the room is soundproofed."

"Right."

"Please count seven seconds, and then enter."

Ray nodded, even though there was no way L could see him. He counted the seven numbers, and then entered.

Beyond's head turned to the side, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the visitor. "A visit in person? I'm privileged."

"Do not feel so. It is only the nature of the… problem in hand which led me here." Ray said in the monotonous tone L spoke in.

"You could at least _try _to be civil. Make some friends or something?" Beyond opened his eyes wide, stuck his bottom lip out and spoke in a sing-song childish fashion.

"Oh, wait," the man's eyes suddenly cast over, his face drawn together, "You've never had friends, have you? Normal people are too boring for you - your first friend would have to be a mass murderer to make_ you_ happy."

"Might I suggest we continue this conversation later? I have rather… pressing business which I must attend to."

Beyond opened his mouth to talk, but was interrupted by a mechanic voice. "This is the issue, B."

Beyond yelled a quick "Shut up, L!" and turned back to Ray, about to talk, when he realised what had just happened.

"It's recorded."

The computer spoke again. "No. This is live. As is the person before you. There is no link between myself and Ray either, apart from an earpiece which can only relay sounds. I am sat outside of this room, which you know to be soundproof. "

Ray figured it would be time to return to his normal self, now that L had given his identity away. "Uh, L? Why d'you tell him?"

"I wanted to illustrate the ease with which you acted my character, and how B was fooled by it."

"Okaay." Ray stuck out his hand to Beyond. "Name's Ray Cooper. Nice to meet cha."

Beyond shook Ray's hand. "You're the second person in my life who's name I haven't been able to see."

"I take it L was the first?"

"That's right."

Ray slumped back again the wall behind him, falling down so he was sitting with his back against the wall and his knees out in front of him. "Hey, Watari, d'you have any-"

L cut him off in order to speak to BB.. "In front of you is the second person who has ever successfully imitated me, you being the first. He also has the same tattoo as us, in the same place. His history is extremely similar to yours, and he shares your unnatural love for-" Ray ignored L and dug into Watari's briefcase for the item he had wanted "-strawberry jam."

Ray emerged triumphantly with a pot of jam in his hand. He proceeded to unscrew the lid, and began spooning the food into his mouth.

After a few seconds of staring at him in appreciation, Beyond sprung across the room to the briefcase Ray had got the pot from, where he found, with a smile, more jam.

* * *

**What do you think? Let me know: I love reading your reviews! **

**Thanks to ChillingShadow, Mystique Madjik, Diamond Lotus-chan and Kurow The Shini-freaking-Gami for reviewing so far!**


	9. Escape

**Wow - another 2000+ chapter within two dayys... Maybe having no internet is actually good - it gets me writing! Either way, I have found another early-morning opportunity to have coffee (yummmm), so you get another chapter!**

**Read and enjoyy...**

* * *

Manna Lowe carefully slid the papers back into the folder, and then returned the folder to the filing cabinet to the side of her. When she was younger she had hoped to be a female Sherlock Holmes – the ultimate enforcer of law. She had studied hard at school, worked to get into a good university, and graduated with a first in law.

Now, her job was as an office worker, filing work for the prison service. Not yet had she used any of her knowledge as a law graduate, nor had she been given any challenging work. Just: '_Move that file here, Miss Lowe, then you can sort through that work there. If you don't understand anything, don't worry about asking, OK?'_

Urghh. The boredom of it all drove her mad. Not as mad as some of the inmates of the prison, but mad enough. And the way they looked down on her as if she didn't know anything. That maddened her even more.

She was sure they meant to be kind, but couldn't they at least give her a chance to show them what she could do? She doubted it. Maybe she'd phone Nikki that night… Yeah, that'd be good. Nikki would understand what she was going through. Sighing again, Manna pushed open the door and stepped out into the corridor.

Unfortunately she didn't see the two firemen sprinting towards her.

* * *

"Did we just run into someone?"

"Yup. Don't worry though – she won't die now."

"When we get out, you're telling me how you can do that."

Ray turned to glance at the slumped over body of the twenty-something woman and was relieved to see the gentle movement of her chest. _BB's not lying then. That's nice._

As they reached a corner, Ray quickly skidded to a halt before changing direction in a swift movement. With Beyond just behind him, he carried on running down the corridor. A few paces later, the deep voice of Watari boomed after them. "Stop. Do not try to run – we will capture you."

Soon after, a stream of armed guards filed into the space behind them, also telling them to stop.

Ray only sped up. "Looks like Watari's got the guards after us already."

He could see B just over his shoulder, a crazed smile on his face. "What're you so happy about?"

"It's nice to be back on the run."

Ray doubted that was the full reason why Beyond was like that, but he didn't want to pry into the life of the madman.

The main doors soon loomed in front of them, so Ray gained more speed in order to plant a firm kick in the centre of the doors, which blew them wide open. They ran down the steps at full speed, finally free. They didn't see the black car speeding down the side of the prison towards them. Seconds later, and all too late, they noticed it, quickly slowing down. This only meant the guards and Watari behind them could catch up, where upon they were handcuffed and bundled into the car. Inside the black car and behind the equally black windows, Ray and Beyond could see Watari telling the police that L would see to more secure imprisonment for them both. He then turned and also entered the car, switching places with L, who clambered into the back seats and removed the Halloween mask he had been wearing. He turned to the boys and, completely out of character, smiled. "Well executed."

_~Earlier~_

"_You're going to break me out?" Beyond asked in what seemed like genuine surprise, an emotion Ray had thought psychopaths were unable to feel._

"_Affirmative. Having assessed the probability of needing a confidential meeting like this again, it is more convenient to take you back to Japan." The detective stated._

"_Take me back? I don't belong to you."_

"_I am sure you are aware of the Kira case. If you were to be removed from this prison, all documents with your face, name and everything else concerning you would be destroyed."_

_B rolled his eyes. "I'm not bothered with Kira. He's too wound up in justice to have any real fun."_

"_Kira has the ability to kill you at any moment. I'm offering you the chance to live."_

"_Didn't you know? I'm already dead?"_

"_That is incorrect. You have not died at any point, therefore you are alive."_

_Beyond smirked "You have my files there, right? Medical report, 21__st__ January **(*)**, this year. Check it."_

_There was no sound made by L that they could hear, but Ray could tell that the detective was doing as Beyond had asked. After a minute or so of the quiet flickering screen of the computer, L spoke once again. "My apologies, I was incorrect. You are, legally, dead."_

_A smile rippled across BB's face much the same way that an ocean wave wrecks havoc in a rock pool. "So, how are you going to persuade me now?"_

_L's reply came immediately "We have a large amount of strawberry jam in the Japanese headquarters already. It is easy to increase that amount."_

_Beyond tapped his index finger decisively on his chin. "Tempting. Very tempting in fact. But I'd still be a prisoner."_

"_You will be able to move freely within the headquarters. That area may expand depending on the circumstances. There will be CCTV, but that has been in place since the building has been taken over."_

"_Bzzzzzzzzz" BB's finger flew from his chin and danced around in the air like a bee. Its path led it to the laptop, where it landed. "Done. I can't say I agree with all of that, but it's better than this. So what's the plan?"_

"_Ray is going to dispose of the guards and both of you shall escape. Watari shall pursue you and I shall be waiting round the front of the prison with the car, where we shall make it seem as if I have arrested you and taken you to another prison."_

_Ray nodded "Sounds good. Just one point, when you say' dispose of', what do you mean?"_

"_Render unconscious of course. I will not allow any of the prison staff to be harmed."_

"_Spoilsport…" Beyond muttered under his breath._

"_Should there be any lasting injuries or deaths I shall not hesitate to remove the supply of strawberry jam. For both of you."_

_BB simply glared at the computer screen, while Ray gave a warning look to the killer._

_~Finish~ _

The shiny black car patrolled down the highway, three of its occupants looking forward to the hotel kitchen. Drawing his mind away from the promise of jam, Ray, one of the occupants, thought over the 'prison break' earlier that day. "Huh, so now the prison service love the ever-mysterious L even more, and we get to walk free. Not bad."

The other two mentioned occupants –L and BB- stared at him.

"What?"

They continued staring at him.

"What?"

"You only just worked that out?" B said.

Ray twisted his mouth to the side, giving Beyond a suspicious look. "Maybe... Maybe not..."

"How about maybe?"

"Okay, okay, I just thought of it. Well, sorry for not having an IQ of a million!"

"You are incorrect. An IQ of one million would be unrealistic at this point in the evolutionary cycle - I have an IQ of 199 and B has an IQ of 197." L corrected.

Beyond growled "I do not have a lower IQ than you."

L shrugged "You are not being stopped from re-sitting the exam. Although should your statement be true, you shall have to write a new test. I scored full marks on the exam I took, hence why my IQ is below 200."

"Sorry, Mr 199. Just don't get comfy. Don't think you're safe in that oh-so-high castle of yours. I willcatch you and I will bring you down." Beyond said menacingly.

"My best wishes."

"Why you-"

Watari, the only member of the car not to have been concerned with food, decided now was the time to interfere in the argument. "Girls, please calm down. We will nearly arrive."

Seeing the childishly grumpy faces of the pair, Ray had to hold back laughter.

* * *

Masumi stared at the piece of paper, not noticing Misa had finished her phone call. _Ray Cooper? Why would Misa – or her boyfriend, whoever he is – have anything to do with Ray?_

"Masumi-chan? Are you okay? You're spacing out." Misa asked.

"You know Ray?"

"Huh? Oh, this guy" she indicated at the paper "Not me in particular. My boyfriend knows him and wanted me to find him while I was in America."

Masumi was even more intrigued "Who's your boyfriend?" she asked.

If she had marshmallows, Masumi felt as if she could toast them on the glow Misa was giving out. "The most amazing, clever, beautiful person in the world – Light Yagami!"

Masumi stared at her. "Light. Yagami."

"Yup! He's so great!"

"As in To-Oh University representative Light Yagami." This was unbelievable.

"Ah, so you know him!"

"Well, he assaulted my brother once…" Masumi kept in with her pretence of Ray being her brother.

"Really? Don't worry! Light's a good person! I'm sure it was a mistake! Who's your brother?" Misa was practically over flowing with exclamation marks.

"My brother? He's the person your boyfriend is looking for. Ray Cooper." Masumi said, indicating to the paper. She had decided to tell the girl despite her apparent connection with Light Yagami. After all, it wasn't as if Misa was any danger; she was so easily led it would be only a word to stop her from doing something.

"Great! We can look for him together!" Misa exclaimed. Masumi gave her a questioning look - hadn't she worked out that Light probably wasn't looking for Ray just to be nice to him? She was obviously more of an air-head than Masumi had thought… _Oh well, I may as well go along with Misa seeing as I can just warn Ray once we meet._ Returning Misa's ever-lasting smile, Masumi agreed "Yeah, let's find him together."

Misa opened the door. "Well then, let's get going!"

Masumi looked out of the door to find a large, mainly glass hotel. "We're staying here?"

Misa looked at her sceptically "Duh. Where else? This is the best, most expensive hotel in New York. Anyone would want to stay here."

Masumi stopped herself from responding. _Misa's paying for all of this _she reminded herself _Just sit back and enjoy the show._ She casually looked around at the other cars around the hotel. She had thought they had arrived in a posh car, but seeing all the other high-brand cars she was pleased they hadn't just taken a taxi. As they headed into the hotel, she noticed another high-brow black saloon pull round and stop before the hotel. She peered round to see if there was a celebrity coming out, but was pulled away before she could get a look by Misa, who scolded her for looking like an 'average nobody'. "You've got to be confident."

Forget confident, Masumi was happy enough waddling like a penguin through the hotel lobby, forgetting her search for celebrities. Everything she saw screamed expensive. Marble floors, beautifully hand-carved chairs and designer wallpaper. Even the lifts made an impact – their glass walls stretching high up past the many floors of the hotel. She was pulled away by Misa, who led her to the reception, where they both signed in and were given their room keys.

* * *

After a high-strung drive, the buffed black body of the detective's car pulled round to the entrance of the hotel. Ray, wearing his girls outfit, and Beyond, equally reluctantly wearing the classic moustache; large glasses; coiffed wig and tweed suit, clambered out the car followed by L, who was wearing his usual white top and jeans. Watari led in front, a twinkle of humour in his eyes.

"Don't look so irritated, B. At least you don't have to dress like a girl." Ray mumbled.

"I look like I'm going for a Sunday stroll – no one will take me seriously. Although on second thoughts, that could be interesting…" Beyond mused.

Ray gave a very un-ladylike glare to Beyond. "You are _not_ killing anyone."

"It wouldn't be killing… just an… experiment." BB said, gazing happily into the distance.

"Oi! Don't do that – you are not going to be the reason for me not having any jam." Ray muttered angrily, having to stop himself from talking louder in his obviously masculine voice. They both turned to face the person who had been walking quietly along beside them.

"Damn you, L."

* * *

***So for those of you wondering what happened on the 21st January, it's the day BB is supposed to have a heart attack.**

**Thanks to the mysterious guest for reviewing in such a short time on the last chapter! 'Twas very nice! (oh dear, I'm doing a bit of a Misa with all these exclamation marks...)**

**Remember: stories eat reviews, so review and the story grroooowwwwsssss... (munch munch munch)**


	10. Jumper

**Wow! And another chapter : number 10! **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and yes, the story had lots of fun eating all the reviews :)**

**Well... Enjoy!**

* * *

Having hurriedly disposed of his hated 'disguise', Ray collapsed onto one of the many sofas in their exceedingly large room. He put his feet up on the end of the sofa, rested his hands behind his head, relaxed his body, and gazed lazily at the ornately carved ceiling.

_Ahh…- _he sighed - _the bliss of relaxation…_

For the last few days of his life, he had been constantly moving, constantly thinking, constantly trying to fit in and understand the world around him. Sometimes it was just nice to relax, and enjoy the occasional patches of calmness that managed to slip into his otherwise hectic life. Calmness. That was what he had missed. Much like the rain, it washed away all his troubles – as if all the strings that had been holding him down had been cut off, leaving him to float through the air.

He stretched his arms out, feeling the air dance round him and the thick oxygen coat his arms in a cosy layer of warmth. He relaxed; closed his eyes; let out his remaining breath. L and BB had gone to another room to discuss the conditions of Beyond's release and Watari had followed while keeping a careful eye on the ex-inmate. Already understanding B's character, Ray guessed they would still be deliberating the terms until late in the afternoon. Which left him by himself.

He rolled over onto his side, but had forgotten his was on a sofa, so rolled straight onto the hard wooden floor. He mentally face-palmed, but was glad there was no-one to see his mistake. Of course, there were cameras and microphones littered around the room, but Ray was pretty sure no-one would be watching, not when there such little time and the Kira case happening in the background.

Deciding it would be too much effort to get back onto the sofa, Ray started drifting off to sleep on the floor, unconcerned with the painful way the floor pressed his bones together. _Oh well. I can deal with pain- _he thought. His mind started to wonder as sleep drew upon him and his body grew limp. His consciousness gradually slipped away, his mind no longer focusing.

"BOO!"

Muscles suddenly tensed, Ray kicked his legs in the direction of the noise, hitting the floor hard with his forearms in order to propel himself off the ground. As he came up, he brought his arms up in front of his face, but stretched out so that he could deal with any attackers before they got too close. His eyes flickered around the room. He could see no-one. "Whoever you are, I warn you, it's never good if you hide from me."

Then a familiar voice spoke. "Calm down, Ray. I just came to say hello."

Ray dropped his guard and regained his normal slouched posture. "Tuig. Don't, and when I say don't I really do meant don't, sneak up on me." He turned around to find the Shinigami standing behind him.

Tuig chuckled, the laughter peeling out of his throat. "I can see why Ryuk finds humans so entertaining – threatening people when you don't have anything to threaten them with…"

"Shut it. Who's this Ryuk guy?"

Tuig just stared at Ray, an amused smile creeping its way across his face. He brought a clawed hand up to his mouth, made the classic 'human' zipping gesture, and threw away the imaginary key he had used.

Ray glared at the shinigami "When I said shut it, I didn't meant don't answer my questions."

Tuig, his smile still broadly sitting on his face, laughed a little before replying "Ryuk? Like me, he's a shinigami – and a great one at that… Has a magnificent sense of humour… You might know the human he stays with though – Light Yagami."

"So I was right? Light Yagami is Kira?"

Tuig nodded "I was going to tell you originally, but it seemed more fun to let you work it out. Not that it took you particularly long to do so."

"So how does he kill people? He's always the goody two shoes in the taskforce, never stepping one foot out of place, let alone going off and killing people. I mean, I know it has something to do with a 'death note'"- he made quotation marks in the air with his hands- "but you could at least give me a clue?"

"Clues are boring. I'll leave the problem of the 'death note'"- this time the shinigami made the air quotation marks, but in a way that mocked Ray- "in your hands…"

"Really?" Ray said exasperatedly. H e wasn't in the mood for the shinigami playing around – Tuig had disturbed his calm-time.

"Yup, that's all! Ah, wait, there's one thing that I actually came here to tell you - because you are aberrare, you, L and Beyond cannot die. "

Ray's eyes widened. "What?"

"Try it. Jump off a building or something. It's true. If you died, the worlds would fall apart, so it simply isn't possible. Why else do you think you've managed to survive this long, or how Beyond could survive the flames that should have killed him? Anyway, I've gotta go."

Tuig's wings uncurled from his back, and he flapped them gently so that he was hovering just above the ground. He flew to the window where despite Ray's protests he slid through the glass and disappeared into the cities' skyline.

"Aw man! Now I'm not gonna be able to have my calm time!"

He went to the door, pulling it open with too much force so that it slammed open. He stepped out into the corridor, plodding over to where the lifts were. He selected the top button, and walked in.

* * *

Watari tapped the detective in front of him on the shoulder "L, it would seem Ray has left the room."

L looked intently at the bodyguard "Where is he headed?"

Watari furrowed his eyebrows, showing a mixture of concern and confusion on his face "It looks like he's going to the roof."

L now turned to look at the laptop to the right of him "There is nothing on the roof, apart from the balcony at the top."

"That is why I thought you should know."

"Have you checked the CCTV footage?"

Watari placed another laptop next to the one L had been looking at "Yes. That is another problem."

He clicked play on the files, and watched L's face grow absorbed in the video he was watching. Beyond, who had moved his chair round so that he could see the taped also watched as Ray started attacking the air, and then began to have a conversation with the room.

_"Whoever you are, I warn you, it's never good if you hide from me."_

"Is there another person there?" L asked.

"No. I checked the infra red cameras, and Ray is the only one there."

_"Tuig. Don't, and when I say don't I really do meant don't, sneak up on me."_

"And they thought _I_ was mad…" Beyond grinned.

_"Shut it. Who's this Ryuk guy?"_

_"When I said shut it, I didn't meant don't answer my questions."_

_"So I was right? Light Yagami is Kira?"_

"Oh?" L said, face completely calm, but Watari knew he felt differently. He could see the intrigue escaping his mask, as well as the way L was leaning forward at a dangerous angle – so much so that Watari thought he might fall off his chair.

_"So how does he kill people? He's always the goody two shoes in the taskforce, never stepping one foot out of place, let alone going off and killing people. I mean, I know it has something to do with a death note but you could at least give me a clue?"_

_"Really?"_

_"What?"_

Watari stopped the tape. "After that, all he does is ask this 'Tuig' character to wait, talks to his self a bit more, and that's when he headed to the roof."

"Watari, please find Ray and bring him here. Do not tell him we have seen these tapes, but make sure he doesn't escape."

"Right." Watari nodded and paced out of the room.

"Beyond, I would like to hear your opinion on this matter."

BB looked faintly surprised. "Me? Hah, I'm honoured. The way I see it, Ray has the power Kira has, but in a different form, which is how he knows – or believes – Light Yagami to be Kira."

L nodded, and slid one the many laptops that had gathered in the room in front of Beyond. "Please watch this. It was aired on Sakura TV in Japan. We believe it to have been sent by a second Kira. Also, please observe this diary extract also sent to the station."

As Beyond watched the video, L studied his face. He didn't do so in order to watch B's reaction to the video, he just did so to give the unoccupied part of his brain something to do while the majority of it worked through the facts presented to him.

The second Kira sent tapes to Sakura TV talking of shinigamis: Gods of Death. Due to the large number of witnesses that there would be if these gods were visible, L calculated that the shinigami would be invisible, and could only be viewed by certain people. After having watched the CCTV of Ray talking to an invisible being that, assuming it wasn't just a figment of the boy's imagination, had just disappeared out a window, into the sky. Very godlike.

But it wasn't that alone that pointed to Ray being suspect in the investigation. It was the fact that he had said so certainly that Light Yagami was Kira, as well as the fact that he had talked about a 'death note'.

What was this 'note' he talked about? The diary extract had talked about 'exchanging notes' pointed towards the idea of a 'death note' being able to kill people. And, what a surprise, had it not been Light Yagami that had wanted to go to Aoyama, the place where the 'notes' were 'exchanged'.

L was brought away from his train of thought by Beyond, who had finished watching the tape and reading the diary extract. "A shinigami. That's who Ray was talking to."

"Correct. I came to the same conclusion myself, however far-fetched it may seem. However, that does mean Watari may have some difficulty apprehending Ray."

He reached for the key on the other laptop that would open up a voice call to Watari, but didn't have to make the call: Watari ran into the room, almost breathless, a state that L had not often seen the man in before. "What is the matter Watari?"

"Ray… He's… Jumped." Watari staggered out the words.

L quickly stood up from his chair, making his way for the door and Beyond followed en suite. "We'll need to see the body."

"I've already seen to that. The hotel guards are bringing it in as we speak." Watari said.

With that, L and BB left.

* * *

"Masumi, Masumi, Masumi!"

Masumi reluctantly brought her eyes up from her book. "What is it, Misa?"

The model beamed. "I've decided…. To give you a makeover!"

Masumi returned her eyes to the book. "That, my friend, is not going to happen."

"Aw, Massy… Can I call you that? Massy? It suits you!" Misa bounced up and down, looking as if she were trying to get rid of some excess energy.

"No. Not Massy, not makeover."

"Okaayy… In that case, let me do your makeup, or I'll kick you out!" Misa said, still with an innocent smile.

"Really? That's mean."

"I'll go get my stuff…. You are going to _love_ this!" Misa giggled, while skipping out the room. She returned minutes later with a suitcase, which Masumi soon found contained an infinite amount of beauty products. "You go sit on that chair, by the window, and I'll start doing your hair!"

Masumi groaned. Then she moved over to the chair – there was no way she could get out of the makeover if she wanted to keep on Misa's good side. She sensed Misa could actually be quite scary if she didn't like you.

"Yey! Let's start!"

As Misa began styling her hair, Masumi gazed absentmindedly out the window, wondering how she had managed to end up in the most expensive hotel in New York, having her hair styled by a model. _Humph. If only Ray could see this… _

After half an hour of tedious waiting, Misa was finished with her hair, and so moved round to start on her makeup. That was when Masumi saw it.

It was pretty surprising for her. It also made her wonder what it was. Then, it made her realise what it was. Then, it made her panic. "Shoot – Misa, what! No, damn damn damn damn damn. It can't! But it- No no no no no-"

Misa was slightly frightened by the sudden outburst from Masumi. "What's up? What was it?"

"That- it- Ray! He just fell straight- straight out of the sky! Past the window! He's- Is he dead?"

"You're saying Ray jumped off the roof, and fell past our window?"

"Yes." Masumi, face contorted, whispered.

* * *

Ray flew past the floors of the hotel, feeling the wind in his hair and the sun on his cheeks. Even if he wasn't immortal and died when he hit the ground, the feeling he had got as he fell had been worth it. Admittedly, he had always been into extreme sports, not that he had ever got to do them much, but the adrenaline rush always made him go for it whenever he got the chance. Jump a building and possibly die? Hell yeah.

As the ground came up towards him, he pulled himself into a ball, using the wind in order to turn him round. When his feet were at the bottom of the ball, he turned his feet round, so that he would land in a crouching position. The floor grew closer dangerously fast, until it engulfed him.

* * *

The hotel guards ran for the front of the hotel. "You say there's a jumper?"

"Yeah, Frank. We've gotta bring 'im in. Well, bring the body in." The elder attendant grimaced. Never in his years of working at the hotel had he ever had a jumper. The people who stayed at the hotel would commit suicide in a much more classy way if they wanted to do so– not the commoners' way of jumping off the building.

As they went out of the entrance, they saw a black shape coming down from the sky. It crashed into the ground in a crouching position, then, to the surprise of everyone watching, it straighten its legs and stood up.

"That was fun." Ray smiled.

* * *

**As always, review! Let me know what you think!**


	11. Lift

**Arrgghhh... Sorry about the mahootive wait (great word!) - I would give you are really interesting excuse like I was abducted by a massive flying doughnut (I like the sound of this...), but basically I had tooonnnnsss of work to do... So, um, yeah... Sorry. Feel free to curse me, swear at your computer and beat up any red cloud that you see anywhere (incase you didn't know, akanokumo means red cloud). It won't do anything productive, but it may be fun, though if it does do anything useful, tell me and I may try it... :P**

**Anyway, I will stop with the useless blabbering and actually get on with the story...**

* * *

Ignoring the scared, confused and awed looks from members of the public, Ray headed back into the hotel, dusting the odd fleck of debris off his shirt. If he hadn't jumped off the building for the rush, or to see if he was immortal – not that he was even injured – then he probably would have done it just for the looks on people's faces as they saw a boy fall from the sky and land uninjured on the floor.

Admittedly, L would be now trying his best to find out how Ray had managed it, but that just added to the fun – after all, what could the detective do? Torture wasn't going to work, and Ray wasn't going to just tell him. Maybe he might spend a long time drawing out the procedure so that L would have to give Ray what he wanted… _Then_ he would tell him, but in a riddle. Or he could pretend he was a superhero sent to get rid of Kira – although thinking about it, wasn't that what he had to do? Tuig had never given him a definite objective, but by what the shinigami had said about Aberrare and the whole Death Note business, Ray imagined he was supposed to do 'something' about Kira.

The problem was what that 'something' was. Caught in the middle of his thoughts, Ray was grabbed from behind by two sets of arms. Relaxing all his body, Ray easily slid down and out of the confused hold of the two captors who, when he turned around, he discovered to be two men dressed in the hotel uniform, one of which had a large black bag slung over his tense shoulder. '_Hotel guards, I imagine, come to clean up my body… This could be fun…' _Ray thought with a smile. " 'Mornin' boys!"

The two guards exchanged nervous glances- "Hey, Bill, say somethin'!"

"Nar, Frank, you speak." Bill, the older of the two guards, nudged his younger companion forward.

"Um… Well… You see… We were just wonderin'… If it's okay, that is..." Frank stuttered, his toes tapping nervously.

"Oh, right!" Ray smiled "You were wondering about how I managed to fall from the roof, which is a good… forty? Forty five? Well, something along those lines floors up, without getting so much as a scratch?"

Frank nodded nervously, while Bill edged slowly backwards.

Ray spread his arms out wide "No need to be scared - Bill was it? Just an army drill – never underestimate the power of a good bit of bungee rope. Well, I'd best be off."

With that, Ray dusted the light layer of dirt that had appeared on his shoulder, before striding confidently past the two guards into the hotel, singing a cheery "Remember, the army's always here for you!" before leaving two very confused hotel guards; a small patch of dirt and many dumbfounded passersbys at the front entrance.

* * *

Masumi almost ran to the lift and once there, slammed the 'down' button with her hand, before whacking it again and again when the lift didn't arrive in the first second.

"Whoa, slow down! I can barely keep up – do you go to the gym? Misa-misa might try going there - then she can keep up with Massy-chan!"

Masumi just about managed to glare at Misa between hitting the lift button "Please can you _stop _referring to yourself in the third person! And my name is _not_ Massy!"

Misa rolled her eyes "Sor_ry_! You're so stroppy – is it that time of the month?"

Watching impatiently as the lift gradually descended from an upper floor, Masumi stood still, looking frustrated at Misa "Didn't you hear me? Ray just fell past our window – he must've fallen from the roof. I've got to go down and see if it's him… And if it is…" Masumi gulped. Inside, she was wishing it had been a trick of the light, that in fact she hadn't seen Ray fly past the window. But she had to check – she couldn't rest without setting the record straight. "Darn. Why? Just why did it have to be here, now. So… Damn. And what the heck is wrong with these lifts?"

Finally the lift arrived. The doors drew open with a co-ordinated chime and Masumi ran in, dragging a helpless Misa behind her. Not taking any notice of the two occupants already in the lift, she hurriedly went to press the button, but was interrupted by one of the two people standing behind her. "The button for the ground floor has already been pressed."

Masumi spun to face the speaker "Then why aren't the bloody doors closing?" she shouted.

"There is a time delay built into the system to allow for extra passengers to enter the lift."

"WELL SORRY MISTER SMARTY PANTS!" Masumi screeched, completely losing her normal laid-back composure.

The doors chimed again, and gently slid closed.

Masumi breathed deeply and counted down from ten in order to calm down, while an inquisitive Misa inspected the two other lift users. One had messy black hair and wore a Halloween mask; a long-sleeved white top; and jeans – no shoes or socks – while the other, although looking much the same, had a tweed suit on and had perfectly combed hair, glasses and a moustache. "You look funny."

The man wearing the tweed suit – Misa named him Glasses - gazed above her head angrily with odd mis-matched blue and green eyes. "Oh really, Misa Amane? You are an interesting person. Very interesting." Glasses tilted his head to the side, and stretched his arm out to her, his long fingers curled around an ordinary pot. "Care for some jam? It's strawberry."

Misa tried to find his name but furrowed her eyebrows when she realised the glasses and moustache were covering too much of his face. "Is there something wrong with you?"

"That's what they say… that's what they say…" Glasses grinned, the downwards tilt of his face unnerving her. If only she could see his face, then she might be able to kill him. Light probably wouldn't be too worried – the person seemed like a criminal (or psychopath at least). Her thoughts were interrupted by the other man.

"Miss Amane? Who is your friend?"

Misa opened her mouth to reply, but Masumi spoke for her, having calmed down "Imai. Masumi Imai. And who are you?"

"Do you know Ray Cooper?"

Masumi was startled by the sudden announcement. "How do you know that? Was it you who made him fall of that building? And who are you?"

Glasses replied "I'm Lee, he's Futu."

"So… Lee and Futu. Lee Futu. Lift. Haha. Very funny. Not." Masumi growled.

"I'm so scared." Glasses said in a now monotonous voice.

The other man shifted in the corner of the lift, standing on one leg as the other foot scratched at the stationary ankle. "Please mind my colleague. He has only recently escaped from a super-max prison, so is still readjusting. "

"What? You're a mad-crazy-bonkers-insane-lunatic-madman-nutcase-psychopath?" Misa cried over-dramatically, her eyes wide.

"Those words all mean the same thing, but that is correct."

"Oh my _god_!"

Glasses' eyes twinkled behind his fake glasses and a curl of laughter escaped his lips. "Nice to meet you Misa Amane."

"How come you know her name?" Masumi queried.

"It just popped into my head…" BB drawled out the sentence.

"Right. Of course. Completely normal."

The lift doors uttered a subtle 'ding' and opened into the hotel lobby.

* * *

Ray, having casually strolled through the hotel lobby, arrived in front of the lift. Glancing at the number display above the doors, he could tell the lift was about to reach the ground floor, so he didn't bother to press the button. After a few rhythmic taps of his feet against the solid marble floor, the door clicked open. And, right inside, were the people he least wanted to see.

"Masumi! Long time no see!"

All he got in reply was a heavy glare and the drawled phrase "You idiot."

He reached his hand up to swat a fly away from his neck; he had been bitten by something. He returned his concentration to the passengers in the lift. "BB and L too! Youu hav… t… als…" He was conscious of his speech sluring, and then his eyelids started to droop. "Fll…"

* * *

Masumi watched as the body of her close friend crumpled to the floor in a lifeless heap. Behind the body stood a tall man in a trench coat and hat, holding a long syringe.

"Thank you Watari." The man who had been in the lift with them, who Masumi now took to be called 'L' said.

"Shall I move him to a secure cell?"

"I think that would be a good idea. Then we might begin the interrogation."

The tall man hoisted the body of Ray up onto his shoulder and headed into the lift with them.

The lift chimed, and headed upwards.

BB smiled.

"I do love a good interrogation."

* * *

**Yeah, I know this chapter wasn't great, but I wrote this is small time gaps that I got now and again, so it's probably a bit stoppy-starty... :/**

**Thanks to Hiken08 for reviewing as well as Mystique Madjik, who made me very happy when you said 'badassness'. Small thing, yeah I know, but 'badass' is such a great word - try saying it lots of times in a gangster voice and move you head forward like a chicken at the same time. Trust me on this, if you get it right you can't stop doing it!**

**Well, so long from your blabbering and very late author, Akanokumo~!**


End file.
